[Onchocerciasis and epilepsy. Epidemiological survey in Mali].

A door-to-door survey was conducted in 18 villages in Mali with a total of 5,243 inhabitants classified according to the endemicity of onchocerciasis. Each epileptic was matched with two controls. The survey protocol included the following steps in cases and controls: census taking, socioeconomic data, screening for epilepsy, clinical examination, laboratory testing to detect parasites in stools and urine, and snip-test.

Comparison of two methods of leprosy case finding in the circle of Kita in Mali.

Kita is a health district of Mali, a leprosy-endemic country in West Africa. We conducted a comparative study of passive and active case finding of leprosy in this district in 1997. In May and June, a mobile team realized active case finding by visiting 32 villages of more than 1000 inhabitants.

[Apropos of 1 Ivoirian case of osseus and cutaneous histoplasmosis by Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii].

Humeral, tibial and cutaneous localizations of Histoplasma capsulatum var. duboisii were observed on a 6 year old boy. The diagnosis was made possible by anatomo-pathological and mycological examinations.

[The treatment of prune-belly syndrome at the University Hospital Center at Abidjan (Treichville)].

Over the past 10 years, we have seen sixteen children (15 males and 1 female) with the prune-belly syndrome. We have managed 12 of these children, but 4 of them were never reviewed. Abdominal wall reconstruction was performed in 11 children by dissection of spermatic vessels and fixing the testis in the scrotum.

[Inflammatory pseudo-tumor of the liver in a child: case report].

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver is uncommon in children. Only 14 cases have been reported in the literature. The underlying etiology is unclear but traumatic and infectious factors may be implicated.

[Experiences in the treatment of hypospadias at the University Hospital Center in Treichville (Abidjan)].

From 1984 to 1994, 105 children with hypospadias were seen. Only 52 of them were treated. Hypospadias was distal (glandular subglandular or subcoronal hypospadias) in 38.

[The treatment of bladder exstrophy at the University Hospital Center in Treichville (Abidjan)].

The care and follow-up of children with bladder exstrophy is still a major problem in West Africa. From 1986 to 1994, we saw 17 cases of bladder exstrophy predominantly in females. We performed 13 successful bladder closures and two ureterosigmoidostomies.

[Acquired recto-vaginal fistula in children: is HIV infection a cause?].

Seven successive cases of acquired rectovaginal fistula have been diagnosed on children of three and half to eighteen months old. These fistula were localised on the fourchette. The seropositivity for HIV of five cases confirmed the results of similar reports found in literature.

[Pygomelus. An African surgical case report].

Pygomelus is a malformation characterized by the presence of one or more extra-extremities in the pelvic region. This article describes a case of pygomelus involving a child in Cote d'Ivoire. It is the tenth operated case to be reported in the literature.

[Valves of the posterior urethra in newborns, infants and children. Apropos of a series of 60 cases].

The authors report their experience with posterior valves of the urethra in children. Sixty patients were seen from 1982 to 1991. The problems of diagnosis and therapy of particular importance in poor countries are emphasized.

[Incidence of malaria and S hemoglobinopathy in the pediatric hospital milieu in Bamako, Mali].

A study on the incidence and gravity of malaria among children suffering of sickle cell anemia was carried out in the pediatric hospital of Bamako-Mali. On the 236 cases of fever studied, 54.2% were malaria infected and 21.

From qualitative community data collection to program design: health education planning in niger.

In order to develop health education programs which are adapted to specific sociocultural contexts, in-depth, qualitative data are necessary for program planning. For this purpose, informal data collection techniques are often more appropriate than conventional, formal research methods. In addition to the type of data collection used as a basis for program planning, three other aspects of the program planning process contribute to the quality of programs developed: who is involved in preliminary data collection and program planning; the degree of contact between program planners and target communities; whether program planning is viewed as a top-down, mechanical process or as a collaborative, problem-solving process.

[Importance of proctological examination in tropical environment. Apropos of 1000 rectoscopies performed at the Hospital of Bamako].

Analysing the results of 1,000 procto-sigmoidoscopies done in Bamako (Mali), the authors asses the major indications of this examination in Africa: rectal biopsy is quite efficient for the diagnosis of schistosomiasis; hemorroides and proctitis are frequent while tumors seem rare.